Coming Clean

It wasn’t my intention to abandon this blog/website completely and if you care to read on, I’ll let you into a secret regarding my increasing titles.

As I’ve said before, although I started my creative writing seriously in 2007 I wasn’t sure back then which direction to go with regards to genre. I wrote poetry and short passages in a wide variety of genre.

T.B. or not T.B.?

While my knowledge of the craft and my confidence grew, I wondered about the possibility of using a pseudonym, or my name, Tom Benson (T.B.).

I couldn’t think of a good reason for not using my name.

Several years along the way and after seeing success with my ‘mainstream’ titles I pulled out a few of my experimental notes and passages from over the years. A good writer never throws away ideas, however ridiculous they might seem.

Around 2014 as I recall, I published my first erotica novel, and after several good reviews, I felt that it would be another genre I’d be comfortable writing. Having said that, it’s a genre that comes with a few built-in issues. For example, if you write erotica:

– you might get sales, but reviews will be thin on the ground.

– you must be kinky or at least have a dubious nature regarding sex.

– if not a part of the LGBTQ? scene, you have a desire to be.

The list could go on, but those are the general opinions out there. It is useful to have life experience, subject knowledge, imagination, and writing ability. I was happy to accept such things were par for the course, so I continued. I produced novels, a series of novellas and two anthologies of short stories. While writing erotica, I was continuing to produce what I call mainstream work.

About three years ago, I thought it was time to try the pseudonym idea, but there would be little point in having another male name, so my secret pseudonym was born.

I continued writing erotica in the background but kept it aside so that I’d have more than one title to publish and I’d be able to put them out there regularly to build up the new brand. I gave my pseudonym a ‘background’ and created a website in her name. I also went for a distinctive book cover, but it was all part of the experiment.

A couple of years later, I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my ability to create covers, so recently, I revamped all of them. I’d previously paid a lot of money for professional covers for my mainstream titles, but it was an expense I wanted to lose. When my thrillers and suchlike continued to attract attention with their new covers, I also opted to deal with my erotica covers.

About a week ago, after much contemplation, I started work on my pseudonym’s covers. I appreciate all of you who check out this blog/website, even if I’m more likely to get a private message via email rather than a public comment.

I’ll watch to see if anyone happens by, but in the meantime, new characters and situations are waiting to be created. 

Thank you for visiting.

Highland Games – Box Set

While trying my hand at making box sets for my various series’ I thought it might be beneficial for my erotica followers if I tried it with my novellas.

Highland Games: The Whole Story is the box set of all five books in the series.

What could be better?

You save the price of one of the books and you have the whole story at hand.

If you’d like to go for it, please click on the graphic–and you’re off to my Amazon page.

Woman to Woman – available

Woman to Woman is now available via Amazon or BookLinker.

When I published Give & Take I had a few readers who liked two of the characters so much they got in touch with me privately The readers wanted to know more about Heather and Lauren.

Woman to Woman is the story of how Dr Heather Clement first met Lauren Ashton, one of her team in the private clinic in the Scottish Highlands – first featured in Give & Take. If you have yet to read the novel, the clinic is the Sexual Exploration and Consultation Services (SECS). This, of course, is the same Dr Heather Clement who is mentioned in the Highland Games series and in a couple of my other erotic stories.

It may have taken a couple of years for me to produce life stories for these two characters, but I’m happy with the result. I hope it meets the expectations of my readers.

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Amazon Preview/Buy                           BookLinker – Universal

I’m pulling out …

Since mid-2014 I’ve dedicated some of my writing time to erotica.

As I reported recently on my mainstream blog Tom Benson – Creative, after my erotica ‘work in progress’ Woman to Woman, I’ll be tucking the genre away for a while.

I’m pleased to report that the story has now reached the end of the second draft, and is around 54, 000 words. Remarkably, I’m happy with how the two main characters have developed, individually, and together. When I wrote Give & Take, I only had a rough idea of how Heather and Lauren had progressed with their lives until they met.

Apart from never before having written a prequel, the greatest challenge with this story has been the ten-year age difference between the characters, but I feel I’ve accomplished the blending of the two lives.

Once they got together the two women got over it quickly enough. There is so much more to a relationship than age.

When the time comes, which will be in early April 2019, I’d appreciate any volunteers to beta read the end product. There would be no need to have read Give & Take, though it would add a certain something to the entertainment.

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In other news, over the past few months, I’ve been mentoring a new erotica author—a young lady from Edinburgh. She hails from the opposite side of Scotland to me, but we see eye to eye where it matters—in the art of naughty storytelling.

I’ve handed over a couple of ideas to my protege to see how she deals with them, so while I get back to dishing out justice to bad guys, I’ll be happy in the knowledge that sexy characters I brought into the world are being developed and having a good time with somebody else.

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For those who might be interested, Woman to Woman: Give & Take – The Prequel, is set for publication in late April 2019.

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A Matter of Taste

There is niche writing, and niche poetry, all of which cater for select tastes. I consider erotica among the niche genre, and so over a period of months I’ve been gradually building a collection of erotic poetry.

Why would any otherwise level-headed individual do such a thing?

I write a variety of genre and therefore my readership includes a wide cross-section of people. When it comes to poetry, the attraction to all the writer’s efforts is negated by the word ‘poetry’. Sadly, unless a person enjoys the written word in verse, they will not venture there. It’s like a like a vegan going into a restaurant—they will rapidly pass any meal on the menu which mentions meat.

Erotica, as I’ve said before is like oral sex—it’s a matter of taste. This, (erotica, not oral sex), is an area I’m now happy to accept attracts attention and sales, but rarely produces reviews, and therefore the titles are possibly overlooked by those astute readers who will only buy something which has been vetted and reported on by others.

Having taken all of the aforementioned into consideration, I yearned to know what would happen if I could produce the ultimate niche book—a collection of erotic poetry.

I had a few aims, among which were amassing at least thirty poems, including a wide range of sexual preference, and some longer, serial poetry. Having achieved my aims, I can report that I’ve created a collection of fifty verses of erotica.

I’ve already started the process of editing each and every poem. Unlike my other creative writing, this is not a task I tackle for hours at a time, which is why I’ve been working on it piecemeal for so long.

Will you be one of the daring ones to step into the world of erotic poetry, perhaps scantily dressed, or even naked?

There’s no need, you’ll be able to download it to your Kindle and read it when you desire.

If I believe that erotica and poetry are niche markets, why then have I invested so much time blending the two?

It’s simple. I believe it’s what a marketing guru would call ‘thinking outside the box’.

Surely the interest factor will capture the imagination of some readers, and then perhaps they’ll take a look at my other publications?

Maybe some of my present readership will pick up such a title out of amusement or genuine interest in the idea of erotic poetry. The verses will be much easier to read than a novel or novella. Size matters—to the erotica author.

My target publication date is Sunday 3rd March.

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Different Strokes

An eye-catching cover, an intriguing blurb and a decent price are all very well, but what if the book doesn’t do the job for some reason? 

There is a myriad of failings to choose from and they range from the length to interest, and of course integrity. Looking at those three areas, the book might be too short, too long, not interesting enough, or in terms of integrity—not do what it says in the blurb. 

As we enter the second month of 2019 I am conscious of two things: publishing regularly, but also only publishing when the work is ready.

I have work in progress in my regular writing; thrillers, and short stories. Here we are though on my erotica site, so what have I got partially-prepared in the background?

A novel, a novella, and a book of erotic poetry is the answer.

A Class Act is my longest story to date and is around 110k words (about 300 pages of manuscript). This tale began life as a short story, blossomed rapidly into a novella, and then the characters stepped in—and a novel was born. 

An erotic story is like actual sexual activity after all—it’s not something we want to end too quickly, and we want to feel satisfied when it’s over.

I’ve written this story from the first person point of view, which I believe lends itself to erotica—if for no other reason, the intimacy of the telling. It’s said that we should write what we ‘know’. I was comfortable narrating the story of a man who returns to his hometown and joins a local writing group, and then, of course, things rapidly swing away from ‘normal’ and we enter a world of sexual desire, exploration, and fulfilment.

My target publication date is Sunday, 10th February 2019.

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Tongue in Cheek: Erotic Poetry has been fun and a challenge. Erotica, although enjoyable is hard enough to write, and poetry can be taxing, but I wondered about combining the two—erotic poetry.

At this point, I have achieved a total of thirty poems for the collection, but I’d prefer fifty naughty rhymes before publishing. Yes, I have plenty of other verses started, but I want them to work for the genre, so I’m in no hurry.

My aim in terms of content is to include a variety of situations for one, two, three or more characters, and also to feature certain sub-genres of the erotica label. Writing a sexy scene requires good choreography, a start and end point, and of course good imagery. I push myself a little harder with my poetry normally, in that I strive for rhyme—whatever the genre. 

The cover image has changed twice already.

My target publication date is Sunday, 10th March 2019.  

Coming … in 2019

During 2018 my characters were as varied as the situations in which they found themselves. My aim throughout this new year will be to produce another selection of colourful characters—male, female, and those who haven’t quite decided.

Lined up and all at different stages of completion I have a novel, a novella, and a book of verse showing in my Work in Progress section. Yes, you read it correctly, I’m also compiling a collection of erotic poetry.

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Tongue in Cheek will be at least thirty poems of an erotic nature—I’m aiming for more, but it will be yet another literary experiment. How far I can take poetry in this genre remains to be seen, but I want to include as much diversity and range as possible, and there is a lot going on, or in, out there.

The cover has already changed twice.

 

 

A Class Act revolves around a writing group and those who attend.  The tale started life as a short story, but as these things do, just like the relationship between the characters, it got totally out of hand. From tight short story, the idea blossomed into a novella, but no, the people involved wanted more from me. It will make its public appearance as a novel.

 

Woman to Woman is the working title of a novella which supplements my first erotic novel.

How has that happened?

When I published Give & Take it was a big step for me, because although I’d had good feedback and reviews on my first anthology of the erotica genre, I’d never attempted a novel. The result I’m delighted to say was that Give & Take continues to sell, and it has a few reviews, which is unusual for the genre. I had several private messages via my website asking for more information about the history of Heather (the sexual therapist), and Leanne (the sexy sidekick).

 

 

The result—Woman to Woman. The story takes us back a few years to when the two women met and I intend it is ‘fleshed-out’ with enough information to keep everybody content.

 

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And there you have it my friends, a brief look ahead to what is coming in 2019 from my erotica stable. As opposed to being a dedicated writer of erotica, the genre supplements my mainstream projects. I’m confident that my new titles will be published this year, but there will be no rush. I hope you find something in my E-catalogue to satisfy you.

As always, my Contact page is confidential, so if you have anything to say and prefer to keep it between you and me, you know where to send from. All correspondence gets a response.

Tom 

My Erotic Writing Year – 2018

At the beginning of each year, I write a summary post for my mainstream writing blog. The idea behind it is to inspire me with my writing aims for the year ahead and to let any followers see where I’m taking my ideas.

Similarly, as the year comes to a close, I produce another summary, in which I report on how my past year has gone and how successful I’ve been with my literary targets.

On the surface, my mainstream writing appeared to have the upper hand for the entire year, but in the background, throughout 2018, I always had at least two erotica projects. In terms of meeting targets, I exceeded them with erotica, because somewhere along the line I played around with two new ideas and they both came to fruition before the year-end.

In support of the opening graphic, here are the release dates:

May—Curious and Camping: An Erotic Adventure; published.

June—Quiet Night Inn: and other erotic stories; published.

November—Being a Good Girl: An Erotic Novella, published.

December—Sharing: An Erotic Novel, published.

I have an erotic novel at an advanced stage, A Class Act, which is in my Work in Progress. It will be my first of this genre next year. I also have the groundwork prepared on three novellas and a book of poetry, all in line for 2019.

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In terms of reading erotica I’m sorry to report that recently, I’ve yet to find that magical product—a book that is a ‘book’ which I can read and justify a public review. Call me Mr Picky, but something between 25–50 pages doesn’t constitute a ‘book’, and at the equivalent of $2.50, it also doesn’t suggest value for money. I don’t care how indecent the content is if the writing isn’t decent.

As I’ve said before, I’m not the be-all-and-end-all of erotic writing, but there is now definitely a premise that a nice cover is a way to a reader’s heart. I fail to see the point of a front cover which portrays a stunning, statuesque brunette with a deep cleavage when the main character is a slim, bi-curious teenage boy who is merely feminised, not transformed into a different body.

Yes, there are supposedly only seven main plots in creative writing, but in erotica, we have now reached the point where we have college scenarios involving a desperate need to get money, the sex-change experiment (pills, potions, and lollipops), and then of course, the ‘sister’ of whoever who becomes a cheerleader—yeah, whatever.

Oh, let’s not forget the stories where a little saliva rubbed on a certain naturally tight orifice is sufficient to provide ‘lubrication’—I don’t think so guys. The result of such lubrication would not be an unexpected instant of pleasurable pain and then ecstasy—it would be extreme pain and lasting mental scarring for the passive partner.

Well, as we leave the old year behind, I thought I’d express those thoughts on why I continually fail to find erotica worth reviewing.

Above is my erotica catalogue as I consider new ideas. You’ll see that I’ve now produced three novels, two anthologies of short stories, a five-part series of novellas, and a standalone novella—which I’m sure won’t be the last of its kind.

There is one other thing to think about as we head towards 2019—I’ll be continuing to depend on realism, plotting and full-length stories in my work. Just saying ….

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Sharing … my latest publication

In Sharing, my latest erotica story, I’ve achieved a couple of goals.

The first target was to write a novella of at least 55-70,000 words inside three months. Instead of rushing it through in a couple of drafts to get it published, the next aim was to let it settle for at least two weeks between drafts to see if it could be developed to novel length (at least 85,000 words).

The finished product took another couple of months after reaching novella length. The book is now 100,000 words and I’m pleased with how the story evolved.

As I was compiling the chapters and considering the title I came up with the idea of using single words for the title and every chapter. I achieved this, which was no mean feat when considering there are thirty-three chapters … and an epilogue.

Perhaps there is nothing too remarkable in any of the above, but the story was first started while I was relaxing during a much bigger project. I was converting five-eBooks into three paperbacks and I wanted something to take me away from the stresses of rewriting, chopping and changing chapters and working out how to produce eight new blurbs.

The idea for Sharing came to me when I saw the picture I’m using for the cover.

Available now:

Amazon Preview / Buy

BookLinker – Universal

 

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Being a Good Girl – available

I’ve read westerns where on several occasions a six-gun accurately shoots over a distance of fifty metres, knocking the gun from another man’s hand—I didn’t get in touch to tell the author it is fantasy. I’ve read romance in which characters spend so much time expressing their love and gushing tenderness—I forgot where they were, and if they were dressed or naked.

In this tale, like my other erotica titles, apart from being detailed and realistic, I’ve opted for a cohesive story. Yes, I’m afraid I use that old-fashioned idea of a beginning, a middle, and an end.

There are no college bets, big debts to be repaid—however, magic potions to turn men into women (or vice-versa), and no time-travel to change somebody’s sexual orientation.

As I explained in my two-part article, Boys will be … Girls: Part 1, and Part 2, the cross-dressing sub-genre is an area ripe for creative fiction.

In my novel, Curious and Camping, cross-dressing is part of a double central theme, combined with relationships. The same sub-genre is merely a sideshow within another novel; Give & Take.

I realise that for many people, (some authors included), the idea of erotica as a genre is simply an excuse to compose smut—and those good folk are welcome to their opinions. If the work has gone in, and appropriate research or knowledge is used, an author can write well about anything.

If you didn’t already know, I started my erotica writing after reading a now famous, badly-written, badly-researched novel which featured an unlikely and highly-dangerous introduction into the world of BDSM. Don’t start me …

Being a Good Girl takes the angle of a young man who is caught en femme, which I believe is a superb premise to begin such a tale. I believe that many men (irrespective of age, their position in society, or background), are ‘caught’ through choice.

We suggest these men have been caught, but is it not also the case that they might have longed to get their predilection out there, to express their desire and partially relieve the stress, and the burden of self-imposed guilt?

Let’s have a look at a parallel in the world of crime.

How many times do we see a movie or TV series which highlights the serial killer, or other criminals, who become more daring, and leave more and more clues for the authorities?

Whatever the reasoning, where there is a sense of guilt, there is invariably a desire to be caught and punished, but perhaps not exposed.

Surely caught and exposed are the same thing?

I would say no, in the case of cross-dressing. To be ‘caught’ is more akin to being discovered by the significant other in a relationship. Being ‘exposed’ is related to a wider public knowledge. Being caught may result in any number of routes to be followed, and possibly the end of the partnership, whereas the other—being exposed, is pretty damning. We don’t live in a tolerant society whatever anybody says in the media. 

And, so, back to my tale of the accidentally discovered young cross-dresser.

He has a more advanced world surrounding him than he would have had thirty years ago. The internet is awash with websites, blogs, forums and so on. Contacts and information are available in abundance, and this is fodder for the creative writer. It takes what was once a narrow, shady world and opens it up to allow the character to be revealed, in conjunction with those with whom he achieves a connection.

Is the story targeted at a male or female audience?

Neither. My erotica aims to draw a reader in with the blurb, and then entertain with the story. If a particular scenario appeals, it depends on the outlook and expectations of the individual. You have to ask yourself how you would feel to be in such a relationship. Some people have no opinion, for others, it’s one of their fantasies, and others, it’s a reality.

In cases like the one featured in Being a Good Girl, it is invariably the partner who holds the key. Whether or not the spouse, partner or whoever agrees to take the ‘guilty’ party back into a relationship opens a whole new area for the writer to play in, and once again we can investigate a variety of options. I’ve taken our main character on a journey of discovery. There are four main characters, and two others with minor roles, so the cast is as intimate as the plot.

Does Darren enjoy his sexual education, and all ends well?

You’ll have to read the young man’s account to find out—it’s written in the first-person point of view.

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Being a Good Girl (Amazon – Preview/Buy)

Being a Good Girl (BookLinker – Universal)